What I bring to the game differentiates me from every other guy out there. Focus. Leadership. Pride. Passion. Extreme Intensity. You've got to be kidding me. Don't you want those in your team? Don't you dream at night having a winning record for a change, or reaching the playoffs, or the grandest stage of them all in NBA?

Maybe it's just because I've taken things to another level. To a whole new level. One that others dare not attempt. For fear of what? Getting ridiculed? Mocked? Laughed at? You think I do this to please the crowd and draw the attention to me everytime I act and react in every play? Everytime I do my pre-game ritual, pound my fist to my chest, take a "cheap shot" on someone, or go crazy on that referee?

I don't do it for the sake of you reading this, you watching me, or anything else ... including David Stern.

I do it because that's me.

So I may have gone overboard in my recent actuations ... I'm raising both arms now in honesty, I'm only human - what can you expect?

Right - you're thinking I also have animal blood in me. I don't get it. I apologize, but hey ... if I were in your team, you wouldn't care less.

If I were in your team, you wouldn't mind me getting in the opponent's skin. You wouldn't mind me hollering at every one on the court, you'd believe I was pure energy.

If I were in your team, I'd leap for every loose ball as long as I can. I'd contest every shot in every area, not just in the paint. I'm all psyched up even at my age, that most times I still feel like the new kid from the block. Yes, my trainor says to slow down, watch it, I might "break another leg". But I know you'd love me for pouring my heart out into anything I do.

If I were in your team, I'd knock sense in the NPAs (Non Performing Assets) in our roster. I'm not the indifferent or passive kind. If I have to give you a shove on the court, or scream at your face, I'd do it at a heartbeat. Same thing goes with the opposing team. I do what I can to get the win by being who I am and doing what I do best.

And you'd love me ... if I were in your team.

If I were in your team, you'd love me for being a traditionally fierce competitor. The game's gone soft. Soft to the point that players text and tweet when they should be playing hard ball. Heck, Shaq even had to explaining the whole tweeter thing to me. If there's any cancer in this league, it's that stuff that's made them players go soft. There's no such thing as a soft game to me. This is basketball. Pure physicality. I eat llamas for dinner and bleed just to know I'm alive. You'd say of course I'm an exaggeration. A loose cannon, hiding behind all these excuses. But if I were in your team, you'd act differently.

If I were in your team, you know I treat every game like it was my last. Just like the warrior mantra, 'I have no future, I have no past, my goal is to make the present last ... I am in the now.'

And I make every moment count. If not for Doc keeping me on his leash, I'd go at it and bring the life out of every regular season game. Most players don't do that. Damn, some players yawn and sleepwalk in the floor. And they call themselves NBA players?

You'd know what I mean. If I were in your team.

But I'm not. So wake up to reality.

I am a Celtic. I bleed green. I presently live for Banner 18.

So unless you're from Beantown, or a Celtic fan at heart, give me a break .. cut me some slack ... or just let me play.

Because you would understand. If I were in your team.

---

Note: This is purely a fictional piece of writing. These are not actual statements from Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics but the author's creative description put in words on what The Big Ticket might be thinking or would be saying in light of recent events and if given the full opportunity. This piece is simply intended to get your blood boiling for the final lap of the regular season. Bleeding Green with you KG and the rest of the Boston Celtics, all the way! - GA

Awww its cute to see you Celtic fans try to defend you moral righteousness. As a Baltimore Ravens fan, I can tell you: It's ok to root for a thug. Your team is your team. Make your peace with the darker aspects; its better than lying to yourself.

Well, I live in Baltimore, am a Ravens Fan and A Celtics Fan. Kevin Garnett is not a THUG, he is intense and determined, he is a teammate and the heart of the Boston Celtics. Keep doing what you do KG, your true fans love your heart and dedication!!!!

haha james, I hate it when that happens, typos can be embarrassing. But what you're saying is probably more so. This article is not to justify fans ignoring his "dark side," it's to show the hypocrisy of people's criticism. If anything, it's trying to put a stop to everyone ELSE's false sense of moral righteousness. We have no problem routing for a "thug" and we admit it, but everyone else who whines and cries about him being a dirty player wouldn't need the tissues if he was on their team.

NICE POST. KG IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PLAYER, RIGHT BEHIND LARRY BIRD, WHO ALSO TOOK FLACK FOR HIS VERBAGE. THEY PLAY WITH THEIR HEARTS, AND TAKE THE GAME VERY SERIOUSLY. I LOVE THE EMOTION, I LOVE THE INTENSITY, I LOVE THE DEDICATION. THEY KNOW WHAT IT IS TO BE A CELTIC--IT'S EVERYTHING!

Great post, i bet KG would co-sign 100% 'I eat llamas for dinner and bleed just to know I'm alive.' lol great stuff. I absolutely adore KG, mostly for his intensity, one of the greatest.Bleeding Green with you KG and the rest of the Boston Celtics, all the way!- me too!

I say amp it up. The more they talk, the more he should turn the intensity up if that's possible. Who cares what other teams have to say about it? Quit crying. If it was Lebron or Kobe it would be on ESPN 24/7

People always have to put down the great ones after they get their @sses handed to them by them..I can understand, if I wasn't a c's fan, I'd hate them too for always beating my team.. That game was the fairest game I've seen all season, and that's even with the now known expectation that fouls aren't called on other teams when the C's go to the cup and get hammered..I guess that's just the way the nba handicaps the other teams who have to play against the Celts

Great read! Want to slap this article to every KG/Celts haters face and say 'shut your envy a§ up! You fame thirst idiot!' Love KG fromjersey#21 to #5. Love him more despite of morons trying to pull him down. It's basketball, for Pete's sake! It's not a reality show!

You see, people don't hate KG because of his "passion", people hate KG because of his "tough-guy" antics. He feasts on kids (*Pau Gasol* cough). Ever wonder why he wouldn't go for Ron Artest, Tyson Chandler, Okafor, and other REAL tough guys out there? Instead, feasting on the likes of Channing Frye, Pau Gasol, and other soft players? It's because he is who he is, a "bully" who likes to go to the playground instead of manning up to those gym bodies. That's what people hate him for. His recent victim being Spike Lee. That's EFFIN Spike Lee who doesn't even play basketball on the court. Now you know why.